Outsourcing boom in Waikato cardiology as demand strains system

Tuesday, 7 July 2026

Waikato Hospital has spent more than $2 million outsourcing cardiac care to the private sector over a span of about five months, as it struggles to keep up with high demand.

Health New Zealand (HNZ) began outsourcing cardiology treatment in November last year, referring patients requiring more simple procedures to the private system so the hospital could focus on more complex or urgent care.

The move has boosted the number of people seen on time, although the majority of patients referred to the department for a specialist assessment are being declined.

It's a situation the Heart Foundation warns shows a health system under 'significant pressure'.

The information was provided in response to an Official Information Act request, with data current to April 2026.

Despite the strain, the hospital said it was fully staffed with 22.6 FTE cardiologists.

However, HNZ acknowledged it was not meeting the Government's cardiology health targets.

A total of 60% of people waiting for a first specialist assessment (FSA) were seen within the targeted four-month time frame. The interim target for this is 65%, but the Government wants this number to be 95% by 2030.

For elective treatment within four months of the decision to treat, 62% of people had their treatment on time, against a milestone of 70% and a 2030 target of 95%.

However, that number had jumped from just 48% in November 2022.

“The service has made significant improvements over time. There is a focus on reducing waiting times for patients by ensuring all clinic appointments are filled. Treatment compliance will continue to improve with a combination of ongoing outsourcing and ensuring that the Cath Lab is working at capacity,” HNZ said in a response statement.

Outsourcing cardiology treatment began in November last year, the OIA said.

“Since this time, 364 people have been referred to a private provider, of which 233 have been treated. A further 45 people are awaiting treatment. During this same period, we have treated 244 coronary patients in the Cath Lab at Waikato.”

“We outsourced coronary diagnostic procedures and low-complexity coronary interventions. We also outsource electrophysiology interventional treatments (such as pacemakers), some rhythm treatment procedures and echocardiograms.”

They had been invoiced $2,201,019 for the patients treated at the time of the request.

Getting to see a cardiologist in the first place was revealed to be a problem.

In the last year, 575 people had been referred by their GP for an FSA, but just 267 were accepted, while 308 were declined — although not all referrals were true referrals, the OIA said, and some were only requests for advice.

“As of 28 April 2026, there are 726 people waiting for a Cardiology FSA. This has reduced from 840 at this time last year. Of these, 143 have a confirmed booking and 586 are currently awaiting a booking.”

“Please note that appointments are booked two months ahead due to specialists' rosters. Each month approximately 200 people are seen in the cardiology clinic, and two thirds of those appointments are FSA appointments.”

High-risk patients were given priority for appointments, and the median wait time was 86 days.

However, one patient had been waiting 2,150 days, or nearly six years, a situation HNZ said was due to “specific clinical circumstances unique to that individual.”

Heart Foundation Medical Director Dr Gerry Devlin said timely access to specialist assessment and treatment was essential.

'Timely access to specialist assessment and treatment is critical to preventing the progression of heart disease and reducing the risk of serious, potentially life-threatening cardiac events,' he said.

'We know since 2020, the proportion of patients waiting more than four months for a cardiology appointment has increased substantially, rising from around 10% to approximately 25% in 2025.

'The situation in Waikato is further evidence of a health system under significant pressure, with health professionals continuing to do their best to look after people in challenging circumstances.'

The Cardiac Society of Australia and New Zealand declined to comment.